Camp NaNo July '17 // W E E K 4 Update + 10 Truths and 2 Lies Results

(Prefacing this by saying I'm at Realm Makers now. *glitter explosion* I'm very excited but very busy...thus the reason for this update post. XD)

Look at me, I'm actually doing a Camp NaNo update. *gasps*

To be perfectly honest? There still isn't much to update. This has been one of the busiest months I've ever had--rivaling even the crazy whirlwind that was February. Almost half of the month has/will be spent traveling. We had family visit. I've had some get-togethers with my friend. There was lots of packing. Fourth of July fun.

In other words, God has had different plans for me this month...and they did not involve writing.

My goal for the month was 20,000 words. And THAT felt low to me before. I've always done crazy NaNos--90k in November, 50k in April. I thought I could handle it. I thought I had it "covered."

WELLLL...I didn't.

My current wordcount: 9,312.

Even looking at those numbers now, I can't help but feel insufficient. I know it's not true, that I just couldn't write a lot, but a part of me feels like I failed. And that's just...something I continually struggle with.

I officially lowered my goal to 11,000 words, almost halving it. Pressing that "submit" button after I changed the word goal was really difficult, honestly.

I'm an overachiever. I take on waaaaaay more things than I could possibly accomplish, and when I inevitably don't get everything done, I get so frustrated with myself. In fact, I devoted an entire post to this on my other blog. It's a real struggle, guys.

This July has been a m a z i n g. But on the flip side, it's also been h a r d. I want to write. I feel like I need to write. But the reality is that I CAN'T. I just can't. Life is too crazy and exciting right now, and that's okay. I'm still trying to come to terms with the fact that it's impossible for me to reach my 20k goal, but I do know that God has other plans for me. AND THEY ARE SO MUCH HIGHER THAN MY OWN.

That aside, I do have a bit of an update. Remember how I mentioned switching projects in my last post? My Snow White retelling was just not. working. out. I love the plot, and I know for sure that I'll be picking up the story again. It's just not time to work on it right now. Instead, I started writing a new steampunk short story called Along the Lines of Legerdemain. (Notice the matching titles? ;D) I'm going to be hopefully doing an entire collection of the adventures of Fiona and Steel. THEY ARE JUST TOO FUN.

This story is going muuuuch better than Behind the Velvet Curtain, despite the fact that I haven't gotten the chance to write much of it. I LOVE MAH CHARACTERS SO MUCH.

And with all my talking out of the way, I present to you some snippets! :)

/ / /

(I may be a little proud of these first lines. Just sayin'. ;P)

It is never very pleasant to wake up to a gun in your face.

Fear pulsed through my veins as I stared down the shiny barrel of a pistol. I was completely vulnerable, an easy target for my potential assassin.

And whoever was holding the gun had a very good grasp of that concept.

/ / /

“Border patrol guards,” I muttered.

“That’s no problem,” Aerick said. “We’ve gone through the inspections easily in the past. They’ll only arrest you if you’re carrying smuggled cargo.”

“Then I think now would be a perfect time to worry.”

Aerick paused. His mouth opened, then closed as a light turned on in his eyes. “Fiona, you don’t happen to have any smuggled goods . . . do you?”

I coughed and focused on the approaching airships. “Well, it might be a possibility.”

/ / /

He shrugged and quirked one side of his lip upward. “How fast do you want it to go? This ship happens to be one of the finest of its kind.”

“Which means it’s a piece of junk.”

He gave me the I-will-kill-you-if-you-say-that-again look. “Technically speaking, you’re just an annoying little girl that’s bothered me 363 days of the year for seventeen years, but we’re not being technical, are we?”

“You really know how to win a girl’s heart.” I slid into a seat beside him and sneaked a look at the speedometer, its red dial slowly ticking up to fifteen. Fifteen kilometers per hour isn’t going to cut it. I tried to ignore the nagging feeling in my gut. But something told me that the sleeker, newer zeppelins ahead of us could easily outrun us.

I raised my eyebrows. “Well, you’re going to have to make our baby run faster than it’s ever run before.”

“She will. Trust me.”

“You know how much I hate you saying those two words.”

Steel managed a wink. “My apologies, Miss McAvay.”

/ / /

Hope you enjoyed reading those as much as I did writing them. I always love writing Fiona and Steel's dialogue. XD

As the second half of the title suggests, I am also presenting the results of the 10 Truths and 2 Lies challenge I had on my blog a couple weeks ago.

And the winner is . . .

*crickets chirp*

Um, no one??

YEAH. Evidently I made these questions too hard for everyone again. *cracks up* But don't worry, someone WILL get a prize this time! Once I get back from Realm Makers, I'll do a random drawing of your guys' names from a bowl. Whoever gets picked will be contacted for their mailing address and choice of prize.

Well, what are the two lies, you ask? They are...

3) I've never been camping (I ACTUALLY HAVE ONCE...that's a story for another day ;D)

11) I've eaten a scorpion lollipop (ewwww no way)

I feel kind of bad that I made it this hard, haha. But have no fear: someone will win something this time. ;)

Well, that's it for my last-minute post. I had to do something relatively quick because of Realm Makers (WHICH I'M SO EXCITED FOR *screams*). Tell me: have you ever been camping? What is the weirdest thing you've eaten?

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I'M SO RIDICULOUSLY EXCITED FOR YOU THAT YOU'RE AT REALM MAKERS. JUST AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!!!! Wish I could be there with you. BUT STILL. YOU'RE ARE REALM MAKERS!!!! :D :D :D Can't wait to hear alllll about!

Oh, girl, I am 100% right there with you in being an overachiever (such as doing double NaNos basically ever year x_x) and then feeling SO frustrated with myself if I don't make my goals. But MARY. Look at your month. Oh my goodness gracious, you have been SO BUSY. o.o Even getting 11k in with this much busyness is a HUUUUGE accomplishment. Please, PLEASE don't beat yourself up. You're focusing on LIFE right now, and not JUST writing, and that's good! (Something I'm working on myself...) You're doing great and have accomplished so much. You should be proud of yourself. I'm proud of you! *hugs*

OKAY. HOLD EVERYTHING. YOU'RE WRITING MORE OF YOUR STEAMPUNK STORY??? AND MAKING IT A COLLECTION????? THIS MAKES ME WANT TO SQUEAL WITH EXCITEMENT. See? You are making accomplishments! AWESOME, SPECTACULAR, FANTASTIC ACCOMPLISHMENTS.

And oooooh my, those snippets. I can't get over the snark and fun of this story. "Technically speaking, you’re just an annoying little girl that’s bothered me 363 days of the year for seventeen years, but we’re not being technical, are we?" <---I laughed so hard at this. XDDD

KEEP WRITING. I LOVE THESE STORIES SO MUUUUCH!!!

That's hilarious we all failed to guess the two lies AGAIN. XD And so wait, you do have two siblings? Because I guessed one of those as a lie. o.o I had in my head you only had one siblings. HOW DO I NOT KNOW HOW MANY SIBLINGS MY MARY HAS??? ALL THE SHAME. *hides head*

I hope you have the most magical time at Realm Makers, dear Mary!!! *throws glitter*

Don't feel too bad. I had to change my camp goal four times and I am definitely an overachiever. Sometimes life just happens and that's not always a bad thing. But the end is almost in sight! We can do this thing!